Issues

I am a proud graduate of the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. My mother was a teacher for several years at Radnor High School. I have taught at several public universities. I understand the value of public education, and I am committed to making sure every child in our state has access to quality public schools. We in the 157th District are lucky enough to have some of Pennsylvania’s best schools, but there are many Pennsylvanians who are not so lucky. In the legislature, I will work tirelessly to increase education funding, free our students from restrictive standardized tests, support our teachers’ independence, and adapt our schools to meet the needs of the 21st Century. I also believe we should increase funding and access to vocational training. Too many Harrisburg politicians put public education first on the chopping block, and I’ve had enough. Our leaders need to support our students and public schools. I promise you that I will.

Pennsylvania has been running a budget deficit for several years and we are now billions of dollars in debt. Our credit rating has been downgraded multiple times. Career politicians in Harrisburg have been squabbling and playing games instead of dealing with our state’s financial issues. Their solution is to borrow more money, point fingers, and try to raise our taxes. That’s unacceptable. While starting my own business and raising my son as a single mother, I couldn't borrow billions of dollars to keep my family and company afloat; I had to act like a responsible adult and make tough decisions to put food on the table and grow my business. I will use that experience to put Pennsylvania back on a path of fiscal sustainability. I believe in balancing our budget and paying off our debt by cutting unnecessary spending, instituting a severance tax, and closing tax loopholes. We need leaders who are willing to make the hard decisions needed to improve our state.

The Pennsylvania Constitution states “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” One of the things that makes Pennsylvania great is its natural beauty. I will fight tirelessly to protect our environment in the legislature. I support increased funding to the Department of Environmental Protection, a moratorium on fracking in the Delaware River Basin, a more stringent and transparent permitting process, a fair severance tax, and stricter laws to protect our air, water, and land. Our government should be working to protect our environment and our future, not doing the bidding of special interests whose only interest is making money. I will never take money from the fossil fuel lobby.

As a mother and as an American, I am horrified, saddened, and angered by the scourge of gun violence in our schools and country. I am tired of waking up to news of another school shooting. Too many children’s lives have been ended by guns. Too many communities have been ripped apart by gun violence. Enough is enough. I am sickened by the lack of action on gun control. Our leaders must act. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. If elected to the state legislature, I promise I will act on gun control. I’m not afraid to stand up to the gun lobby. We owe it to every family who has had to bury a loved one because of gun violence to do something about gun control. I promise to be a proactive, not reactive, leader on gun control in the legislature. I will act on it as soon as I am sworn in; I won’t wait until the next mass shooting to do my job and help fix the problem.

I support many common-sense measures that will make our schools and communities safer from gun violence . I support a bump stock ban and universal background checks on all gun sales in Pennsylvania. I strongly support an assault weapons ban. Weapons of such destructive capability should not be available for ordinary purchase. I support a limit on the amount of ammunition and the number of guns that can be purchased at one time. I support funding gun buyback programs. I support the rights of municipalities to pass their own gun regulations. I support increased funding for mental health treatment. I support allowing the courts and the police to remove firearms from someone deemed a threat.

Pennsylvania is one of the most restrictive states for a woman's right to choose. I support a woman's right to make decisions about her own health. That's why I have gotten the "#VoteProChoice endorsement.

When each and every person has a fair shot at success, we all win. In addition to providing top-notch education to our students and investing in local infrastructure, we need a system that empowers all of our fellow workers. Pennsylvania needs a strong minimum wage, to demand equal pay for equal work regardless of gender or race, and to ensure wages and benefits grow to keep up with profits. I proudly stand with those fighting for safe working conditions, to protect Pennsylvania’s own little Davis Bacon law, and to protect the freedom of all people and workers to organize themselves. We must provide paths to prosperity for all of our citizens.

The state of PA’s infrastructure is in need of vast improvements. Pennsylvania scores very poorly in many infrastructure categories, including transportation and water infrastructure. I support legislation that commits to investing in large infrastructure projects to improve our roads, bridges, railways, airports, and water systems.

Many of my constituents commute to Philadelphia daily. They rely on our public transportation system and highways. Right now these systems need major upgrades. My constituents are forced to sit on over-crowded trains, and on Interstate 76, Highway 202 and Highway 422 in heavy traffic during their commutes. I believe infrastructure must be improved to relieve the issues that affect my constituents every single day.

Creating high quality infrastructure, and improving our current failing infrastructure is extremely important and something I place high value on. Creating, improving and maintaining our infrastructure is important because it creates good middle class jobs, as well as protects the individuals who rely on our infrastructure to get to and from work. I had to start my own small business because it was so difficult for me to commute to Philadelphia and pick up my son at a reasonable time. I believe Pennsylvania should be leading the way in quality infrastructure. Therefore, I will support legislation that focuses on projects that improve our current infrastructure and build new high-quality infrastructure.

A recent report by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration on heroin and opioid related hospital admissions in Pennsylvania shows overdoses have quadrupled since 2010, and fatal overdoses rose 37% in 2016. (citing Philly.comgoo.gl/XD5cd4) This crisis is having a devastating impact on our Pennsylvania families and communities. As a state we need to do everything we can to fight this disease. It’s time to focus on prevention, treatment, recovery, as well as criminal justice reform.

As Americans it is our duty to protect the men and women who have shaped and built our community and country. Currently, Pennsylvanian seniors are facing increasing cuts to Medicaid that will drastically reduce their standard of living. It is vital that we engage, support, and protect the senior citizen community in our district. They deserve to live with dignity.

Gerrymandering is a bipartisan issue that has hurt democracy and disproportionately targeted minorities. Political laziness and expediency has prevented the issue of gerrymandering from being solved. When a political party has the power to draw the lines that decide their own fate there is no longer a true democracy. These borders are tactically drawn in order to make state house races less competitive. In order to make as many districts safe or easy for a party to win, legislatures often pack as many voters from the opposing party into as few districts as possible. This limits the opposing party’s power throughout the government. In the end, this can lead to a one-party dominated legislature that does not reflect the will of the people.

OFFICE LOCATION UPDATE: District Office is 42 E. Lancaster Ave., Paoli, PA, 19301. We are located in the back of the Malvern Bank building that is at the corner of Lancaster Ave & Darby Road. Parking is behind the Malvern Bank building. To access the parking lot, turn on to Darby Rd from Lancaster Ave, then make the second left into the parking lot. There’s a sign with my name and the state seal on the office door. You can park anywhere even though the spots are numbered and signs say bank parking only. Any questions? Please contact: District Office Director Tyler Sciaudone at tsciaudone@pahouse.net or call 484-200-8260
*Website Paid for by Friends of Melissa Shusterman*